Five Guys: Best Burger in town?

Usual Suspects: Come one, come all – you can find just about anyone in and around this place.

Why I love it: I can’t say I loved it… the food was really good, but it’s pretty expensive for burgers and fries. The burger was messy, but then again, the taste was all there.

Why you’ll love it: If you’re craving greasy fast food – and something a little better than McDo in terms of quality – Five Guys is a good spot. It reminds me exactly of In-N-Out in California.

Who to take: Unless you’re confident enough that you can impress someone with sauce all over your face, skip this place for a date. Take your friends and be disgusting with it.

I ordered: The bacon hamburger with fries and root beer.

Cashier says to order: The cashier just told me to choose from the menu… it was lunch rush hour, so I don’t think she was amused by my efforts at making a friend.

Price: $$

It was Friday, and it was exactly noon. Glancing across the street, I noticed the line to enter Five Guys had actually spilled onto the sidewalk, slowly snaking its way along the building front. I arrived a few minutes before my friend, so I jumped right in line.

Now I knew I was in for something good. Rob arrived seconds before we stepped into the foyer – just in time to avoid pissing anyone off for pulling the old ‘chat and cut.’ I mean, I could tell these people were hungry, and they meant business.

The interior of Five Guys reminded me of an American diner with its red and white checkered patterns on the tables and counter-tops. The staff wore red and white uniforms, donning the traditional red baseball cap. They yelled to each other over the noisy crowd, barking orders and passing the word from one to the other. You obviously wouldn’t find this type of atmosphere in a high-class restaurant, so it definitely gives the place a rough edge that I found slightly amusing.

Adjacent to the front counter were huge sacks of peanuts from which you could freely take a handful, crack, eat and promptly drop the shells onto the shell covered floor.

When I finally got the chance to order, I felt as though I had exactly six seconds before the girl would skip to the next customer in line. I ordered the bacon hamburger all-dressed with fries and a root beer. She gave me a number, and I was asked to wait at the counter in the back.

Despite the long wait, the food was actually pretty good. The burger was incredibly juicy. I had sauce dripping down my chin and down the side of my hand. The only downside: the ingredients were falling out of the bun, which was soggy as hell, making the whole thing a great big mess.

The fries were really well done, loaded into the container with enough salt and grease to kill a horse. Actually, there were so many fries that I ended up bringing the rest back to the office to share with my co-workers.

All said and done, the combo cost me about $14, so while it was definitely worth trying once, I wouldn’t say it’s a place I’d hit up on the regular. But If you’re in the area and craving something along the lines of an In-N-Out burger (cue in the Sam L. Jackson Pulp Fiction quote, “Those are good burgers”), it’s probably not a bad idea to check it out once.

But please, do yourself one hell of a hefty favour and get some extra napkins before you sit down to chow.

About The Author

Daniel is just your typical guy. He likes to drink, loves to explore, and relishes eating his heart out in Montreal. With a keen eye for detail, his photographs capture the spirit of the city, and his narratives express the undying passion he has for it. Whenever in doubt, trust him to give you the best advice on where to visit, what to do, and how to devour it.